THESIS: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a president who undoubtedly led the country through some of the toughest times in American history. Those times being the Great Depession and World War II. By the time of Roosevelt's death, he had been through a lot with his country and left it standing stronger than it was before. Roosevelt is recognized as the best president of the twentieth century, which I wholeheartedly agree with. For this I give him an "A" for his efforts.
GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS: As Roosevelt entered the presidential office for the first time, his core goal was to aid the people of the country that were suffering from the effects of the Depression. He drew up a relief plan full of legislation and other forms of relief for the citizens that was known as the "New Deal". The New Deal was meant to hit on the three "r's", which were relief, reform and recovery. His first major moves came within what was known as the "first hundred days". During this time Rosevelt started the New Deal revolution and kicked it off by declaring a national banking holiday. During this banking holiday, Roosevelt shut down banking institutions all across the country and only reopened the ones that proved safe enough for people to put there money back into. This increased the public's trust in the banking system. This was closely followed by the banking acts if 1933 and 1935 which kept the banks from dealing in stocks and bonds and established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Roosevelt then looked to create more jobs for the jobless, so he created the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Tenessee Valley Auhority which employed young men to work on making good use of natural resources and other conservation projects. To aid the farmers, he passed the Agricutural Adjustment Acts, which sought to reduce crop surpluses by paying farmers to limit their crop production. After these acts and projects were set into place, the legislation and the building of special committees came pouring in. Some of the more noteworthy of these were the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, National Industrial Recovery Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Housing Act, the Works Progress Administration, the Rural Electrification Administration, the Wagner and the most far-reaching, the Social Security Act.
Upon entering his second term, Roosevelt's main goal was to focus on the administration's program of economic recovery. He worked to regulate all of the New Deal legislation that he put forth and made sure that it had the maximum relief effect. He kept a closer eye on the banks with such administrations as the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure that the banks were being reformed from the inside out. This way, another disasterous stock market crash would not happen again. Roosevelt pegged the banks as one of the roots of the problem, so he used the power of this new legislation to regulate them under closer supervision.
In Roosevelt's third term, he had a whole different host of problems to deal with. His new main focus was the war that had begun to rage in Europe. His main goal at this point was to keep the United States out of the war by a strict foreign policy of neutrality. The war was inflicting fear of communism and a global depression on the Americans, two things that they wished to have nothimg to do with. Yet, as the war went on it seemed the United States was being pulled towards it even more. After the fall of France, the U.S. was being pulled even closer to the Allied Powers. In September 1940, the Destroyer Deal took place. Under this deal, Roosevelt agreed to deliver 50 old destroyers to Britain in exchange for 8 naval and air bases abroad. Shortly after, Roosevelt signed the Lend Lease Act which provided Britain and later, other Allied Powers, with $50 billion worth of military supplies. At this point Roosevelt wished to do anything he could to help short of war. Finally on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and Roosevelt asked and recieved a declaration of war from Congress. It is arguable whether or not Roosevelt achieved his goals during this term.
In Roosevelt's fourth and final term, he just wished to keep America strong on the battlegrounds but he was not able to do this as he died shortly after his inauguration.
RELATIONSHIP WITH CONGRESS: All through Roosevelt's presidencies he was lucky enough to hold a democratic majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This was very beneficial to Roosevelt in that it ensured that his New Deal legislation would be passed with little to no controversy in Congress. Roosevelt is known to be the president who made the most vetoes during his terms but this is mainly because he served so many terms and he had many different ideas coming to him about how the Great Depression and World War II should be handled. At the time of his death, Roosevelt vetoed a total of 635 bills during his presidencies.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS: The most positive aspect of Roosevelt's presidency was undeniably his New Deal in general. Although the New Deal didn't cure the Depression, its relief efforts helped immensely. It reinstated the public's trust in the banking system, it provided jobs, it helped the farmers and it offered relief to those that were struggling (which was everyone). It started the country's upward climb out of the Depression. Although this was a big positive of his presidency, he did make one major blunder. In 1937, Roosevelt wished to put more Democrats that were supportive of his New Deal into the Supreme Court which was unltraconservative in the majority. He asked Congress to allow him to add a new member to the Supreme Court for every member that was over seventy that would not retire. This enraged the public as Roosevelt suffered accusations of trying to break the checks and balances system and grooming himself to be a dictator. Although this incident eventually blew over, it caused Roosevelt to lose the political integrity that he had once held.
PRECENDENT: Throughout Roosevelt's New Deal legislation, one particular act stood out from the rest and eventually set a precedent for many years to come. The Social Security Act is considered the most far reaching bit of legislation from the New Deal and has lasted so long that it is still used today. Under the Social Security Act of 1935, retirement income was provided for those over the age of 65, financial assistance was provided to the aged needy, unemployment and disability insurance was created and there were survivors' benefits. Although it did cause a panic within the Great Depression, it was moderated in such a way that it was able to live on to present day times. Today, it seems it is still widely criticized but it serves the purpose that it was meant to serve. Today, Social Security has been branched out to meet more needs but it still holds its foundation and basic entities with the legialtion that was passed by Roosevelt.
CONCLUSION: The Great Depression and World War II were arguably some of the worst times in American history as both inflicted heavy suffering on the citizens of the United States. At the time, America needed a strong leader to pull them through and Franklin Delano Roosevelt proved to be just that. Roosevelt kept almost all of his campaign promises which is a bit of a political allegory to begin with, and he later executed them to the best of his ability. Upon his death, Roosevelt had left the country in a much better state than it had been before he entered his presidency and for this I would give him a grade of an "A".
http://www.justfacts.com/socialsecurity.asp. Social Security - Just Facts. Just Facts.com. 16 May 2010.
Kennedy, David M. Cohen, Lizabeth Bailey, Thomas A.. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghon Mifflin, 2002. DeGregorio, William A.. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Born: January 30, 1882
Died: April 12, 1945
Democrat
Terms: 1933-1937, 1937-1941, 1941-1945, 1945-death
Vice Presidents: John Nance Garner: 1933-1941
Henry Agard Wallace: 1941-1945
Harry S. Truman: January to April 1945
THESIS: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a president who undoubtedly led the country through some of the toughest times in American history. Those times being the Great Depession and World War II. By the time of Roosevelt's death, he had been through a lot with his country and left it standing stronger than it was before. Roosevelt is recognized as the best president of the twentieth century, which I wholeheartedly agree with. For this I give him an "A" for his efforts.
GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS: As Roosevelt entered the presidential office for the first time, his core goal was to aid the people of the country that were suffering from the effects of the Depression. He drew up a relief plan full of legislation and other forms of relief for the citizens that was known as the "New Deal". The New Deal was meant to hit on the three "r's", which were relief, reform and recovery. His first major moves came within what was known as the "first hundred days". During this time Rosevelt started the New Deal revolution and kicked it off by declaring a national banking holiday. During this banking holiday, Roosevelt shut down banking institutions all across the country and only reopened the ones that proved safe enough for people to put there money back into. This increased the public's trust in the banking system. This was closely followed by the banking acts if 1933 and 1935 which kept the banks from dealing in stocks and bonds and established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Roosevelt then looked to create more jobs for the jobless, so he created the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Tenessee Valley Auhority which employed young men to work on making good use of natural resources and other conservation projects. To aid the farmers, he passed the Agricutural Adjustment Acts, which sought to reduce crop surpluses by paying farmers to limit their crop production. After these acts and projects were set into place, the legislation and the building of special committees came pouring in. Some of the more noteworthy of these were the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, National Industrial Recovery Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Housing Act, the Works Progress Administration, the Rural Electrification Administration, the Wagner and the most far-reaching, the Social Security Act.
Upon entering his second term, Roosevelt's main goal was to focus on the administration's program of economic recovery. He worked to regulate all of the New Deal legislation that he put forth and made sure that it had the maximum relief effect. He kept a closer eye on the banks with such administrations as the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure that the banks were being reformed from the inside out. This way, another disasterous stock market crash would not happen again. Roosevelt pegged the banks as one of the roots of the problem, so he used the power of this new legislation to regulate them under closer supervision.
In Roosevelt's third term, he had a whole different host of problems to deal with. His new main focus was the war that had begun to rage in Europe. His main goal at this point was to keep the United States out of the war by a strict foreign policy of neutrality. The war was inflicting fear of communism and a global depression on the Americans, two things that they wished to have nothimg to do with. Yet, as the war went on it seemed the United States was being pulled towards it even more. After the fall of France, the U.S. was being pulled even closer to the Allied Powers. In September 1940, the Destroyer Deal took place. Under this deal, Roosevelt agreed to deliver 50 old destroyers to Britain in exchange for 8 naval and air bases abroad. Shortly after, Roosevelt signed the Lend Lease Act which provided Britain and later, other Allied Powers, with $50 billion worth of military supplies. At this point Roosevelt wished to do anything he could to help short of war. Finally on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and Roosevelt asked and recieved a declaration of war from Congress. It is arguable whether or not Roosevelt achieved his goals during this term.
In Roosevelt's fourth and final term, he just wished to keep America strong on the battlegrounds but he was not able to do this as he died shortly after his inauguration.
RELATIONSHIP WITH CONGRESS: All through Roosevelt's presidencies he was lucky enough to hold a democratic majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This was very beneficial to Roosevelt in that it ensured that his New Deal legislation would be passed with little to no controversy in Congress. Roosevelt is known to be the president who made the most vetoes during his terms but this is mainly because he served so many terms and he had many different ideas coming to him about how the Great Depression and World War II should be handled. At the time of his death, Roosevelt vetoed a total of 635 bills during his presidencies.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS: The most positive aspect of Roosevelt's presidency was undeniably his New Deal in general. Although the New Deal didn't cure the Depression, its relief efforts helped immensely. It reinstated the public's trust in the banking system, it provided jobs, it helped the farmers and it offered relief to those that were struggling (which was everyone). It started the country's upward climb out of the Depression. Although this was a big positive of his presidency, he did make one major blunder. In 1937, Roosevelt wished to put more Democrats that were supportive of his New Deal into the Supreme Court which was unltraconservative in the majority. He asked Congress to allow him to add a new member to the Supreme Court for every member that was over seventy that would not retire. This enraged the public as Roosevelt suffered accusations of trying to break the checks and balances system and grooming himself to be a dictator. Although this incident eventually blew over, it caused Roosevelt to lose the political integrity that he had once held.
PRECENDENT: Throughout Roosevelt's New Deal legislation, one particular act stood out from the rest and eventually set a precedent for many years to come. The Social Security Act is considered the most far reaching bit of legislation from the New Deal and has lasted so long that it is still used today. Under the Social Security Act of 1935, retirement income was provided for those over the age of 65, financial assistance was provided to the aged needy, unemployment and disability insurance was created and there were survivors' benefits. Although it did cause a panic within the Great Depression, it was moderated in such a way that it was able to live on to present day times. Today, it seems it is still widely criticized but it serves the purpose that it was meant to serve. Today, Social Security has been branched out to meet more needs but it still holds its foundation and basic entities with the legialtion that was passed by Roosevelt.
CONCLUSION: The Great Depression and World War II were arguably some of the worst times in American history as both inflicted heavy suffering on the citizens of the United States. At the time, America needed a strong leader to pull them through and Franklin Delano Roosevelt proved to be just that. Roosevelt kept almost all of his campaign promises which is a bit of a political allegory to begin with, and he later executed them to the best of his ability. Upon his death, Roosevelt had left the country in a much better state than it had been before he entered his presidency and for this I would give him a grade of an "A".
Bibliographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes#Franklin_Roosevelt. List of United States presidential vetoes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 16 May 2010.
http://www.justfacts.com/socialsecurity.asp. Social Security - Just Facts. Just Facts.com. 16 May 2010.
Kennedy, David M. Cohen, Lizabeth Bailey, Thomas A.. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghon Mifflin, 2002.
DeGregorio, William A.. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.